Catch Me When I Fall [BxB]

Just How Much Can I Take?

I stare at Tyrone momentarily, trying to process.

"What? You knew? And you didn't tell me sooner?" I ask eventually, feeling utterly disappointed at how it seems that no one ever tells me anything.

Despite my saddened and somewhat shocked mood, I decide not to jump to conclusions. I learned that lesson after I was locked in the storage room.

"Why?" I manage to ask quietly. "Why wouldn't you tell me that? How did you even know? And how long, even?"

"The day we were calculating our BMI's. I got the weigh scale from the bathroom and on the way back, I heard Hazel and Rassler talking and I eavesdropped. And of course I was stupid and it never registered to me that you had a right to know. I mean, I did want to tell you. I was debating it. But then I figured that it was something you needed to hear from your mom. Besides, I was hoping that maybe I misread the situation. I wasn't even sure I had all the facts right. And I decided I'd wait until I could figure out a little more and be absolutely sure it was all true. But then it kinda just slipped my mind."

Tyrone tells me.

"That makes sense. I understand it. Jumping to conclusions never really does any good, does it?" I ask.

"No, but you're allowed to be mad, Khai." Tyrone says, his eyes searching mine. I can see that he seems hurt by how he handled the situation, but to me it seems more justifiable than how my mom handled it. 

So in comparison, it's easier to forgive him.

"It just sucks that everyone constantly keeps things from me... I feel like I just get treated like I'm a little kid." I say.

"I know. It's not fair. And I'm sorry for being one those people. I just want to protect you but I do stupid things to make that happen. And I'm not even saying you need to be protected. Well-" Tyrone cuts himself off. "I just have this... want... to do so."

There's a brief moment of silence.

"Okay... it's not really like you have no reason to... I do kinda need to be protected at times... like frequently... I am a walking safety hazard... and I'm not very good at self-defense... at all." I add.

"Yeah... there's some reasoning behind it. Still, I don't want you to feel under-estimated. You're actually capable of more than I think you know when it comes to standing up for people you're close to."

I smile at him.

"When your dad moved in I suddenly remembered again and I was confused by Hazel's decision. But you were so happy and I really didn't want to take any of that light from you. Especially because I was so depressed that day. You happiness can be very... infectious. But then you started to notice something was wrong and I got worried my sadness would be infectious, too. So I left. I'm not trying to justify anything, by the way. I'm just explaining and hoping it will make it a little easier on you. But I'm really sorry Khai. I didn't realize it at first, but looking back now I should've told you anyways."

"I appreciate that you told me that now at least... I feel like most people would've tried to keep it to themselves after hearing how it affects the other person. That was very brave." I say. "And I forgive you, Ty."

He smiles at me, though his eyebrows are still somewhat drawn together, a giveaway to his distress.

"I'm not gonna make that mistake again and I can tell you what else I heard, if you want to know."

"Oh god, there's more?" I ask.

"Well... not really, but a little bit. And you may already know it. I'm not sure what Hazel all told you."